I like the first design of the three - with the bucket. But, since it needs to be outside, what's the best way to run it into a tent? I'm pretty sure I'm doing the tent-inside-the-carport system this year. Seems like I might need to look into a different system?

Good question,

Put the cooling unit inside the carport.. It only requires dryer air than the cooled area. If it's your tent and your going to keep it, here is an idea. Select a point on the tent you want for "cool" air in.. Draw a circle the size of a dryer hose.. Lay a bead of glue (Goop) 2 inches wide on the circle line. Then draw an (X) across the circle with another bead of glue.. Again two inches wide. Cut across the (x) only..You will be able to insert the dryer hose and tie around the hose and the pie cut on the tent..Next you will need an exhaust port.. I would just just open one of the screens a little.. Others may have a better idea.

Great thread, thanks! Fly-In-Virgin here, likely going solo, renting an SUV and drop-shipping stuff to a Reno Walmart/Home-Depot. I’ve done a lot of reading and prep work so I ‘think’ I’ll be ok. For cooling, I’m thinking the Reflectix stuff will work well on the windows. I’m doing plastic bins with supplies in the back, old fitted-sheets and plastic to cover all interior surfaces [dust], small tent with tarp over it, big stakes, sleeping-bag/inflatable-bed in the tent or in back of SUV, not sure yet. What I’m trying to do is avoid a huge clean up fee when I return the rental and of course, I’m trying to keep alive mid-day.

"Nothing Is Written" (Lawrence of Arabia: after he returns from going back into the Nefud Desert to rescue Gasim)

I am building this and bought the fan you recommended. The fan comes with 4 wires attaching to a white clip; how do I determine which of these wires is positive and negative? I will be attaching it to a solar panel & battery set up.

I am building this and bought the fan you recommended. The fan comes with 4 wires attaching to a white clip; how do I determine which of these wires is positive and negative? I will be attaching it to a solar panel & battery set up.

I cut the first pad with the demensions and the pad is too big. it's 33 1/2 inches but it won't fit properly. I know I need to cut it to fit but why isn't mine fitting properly? Anyone else have this issue?

Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious.

maryanimal wrote:I cut the first pad with the demensions and the pad is too big. it's 33 1/2 inches but it won't fit properly. I know I need to cut it to fit but why isn't mine fitting properly? Anyone else have this issue?

Yeah, I had the same problem. I cut about 3 inches off to make it about 30.5"

FIGJAM wrote:If I recall correctly it's the 2 wires closest to the outside edge of the clip.

You can just cut the clip off and touch test 2 wires at a time to the battery.

Only one way will work, but you won't hurt it by testing.

For good measure, two ways will work one will just blow backwards. Make sure you have it the right direction before mounting it. Ive done this wrong before wiring an electric fan to cars radiators.But as TT120 said it should be the red and black wires, red being power and black ground for forward blowing

maryanimal wrote:I cut the first pad with the demensions and the pad is too big. it's 33 1/2 inches but it won't fit properly. I know I need to cut it to fit but why isn't mine fitting properly? Anyone else have this issue?

Im pretty sure there is a standard but its possible your bucket is a different diameter than normal.

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.

tattoogoddess wrote:Hey figjam was thinking about this earlier , the battery, does it need to be incased in anything or can it just sit on the playa ground?

I'm not the expert but I set mine on a 2x4 and kept it inside my tent, so it was off the ground, and I never had any problems.

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.

I've assembled the bucket version of the evaporative cooler, using the same suggested fan and pump. We're going to be using a generator to power this, so I spliced the wires to worth with a 12v 1800mAH AC Adapter. However, I've run into a few hiccups:

1) Using the measurements for the cooling pad listed on instructions, the bucket leaks through the air holes in the sides. I've had to trim the cooling pads, but are there any other suggestions to fix this issue?

2) The pump isn't powerful enough to circulate the water all the way around the top ring of the pump. The last 3 inches of the top loop don't receive any water circulation. I've made sure to keep the holes uniform and about 1" apart. It's the same pump recommended in the instructions.

I'm a complete newbie to projects like this and wiring, so I'm not sure what to do about the pump. Do I need a more powerful AC adapter? What would I need to make it power the fan and pump at full strength? I don't know how to convert watts to mAH, or really anything about electrical stuff. Any help or advice would be sooo much appreciated.

ArtemisiaLYG wrote:I've assembled the bucket version of the evaporative cooler, using the same suggested fan and pump. We're going to be using a generator to power this, so I spliced the wires to worth with a 12v 1800mAH AC Adapter. However, I've run into a few hiccups:

1) Using the measurements for the cooling pad listed on instructions, the bucket leaks through the air holes in the sides. I've had to trim the cooling pads, but are there any other suggestions to fix this issue?

Cut the pad to 30" X 13.5". It should just fit inside the bucket without touching the walls. Wherever it touches the inside of the bucket there is a potential to leak there.

ArtemisiaLYG wrote:2) The pump isn't powerful enough to circulate the water all the way around the top ring of the pump. The last 3 inches of the top loop don't receive any water circulation. I've made sure to keep the holes uniform and about 1" apart. It's the same pump recommended in the instructions.

How big are the holes you drilled in the tube? If they're too big, the water wont make it all the way around the circle.Something else to check would be polarity of the pump and power pack. Make sure it's hooked up positive to positive and negative to negative.It's a 12 volt pump right?1800 mAh is 1.8 Ah so that should be enough for the pump

ArtemisiaLYG wrote:I'm a complete newbie to projects like this and wiring, so I'm not sure what to do about the pump. Do I need a more powerful AC adapter? What would I need to make it power the fan and pump at full strength? I don't know how to convert watts to mAH, or really anything about electrical stuff. Any help or advice would be sooo much appreciated.

There are ohm's law calculators on the internet that will give you the numbers you want (watts, mAh, volts, ect.).

Thanks! I got it working now. Although now I have another question. I have a Yurt and can't cut a hole in it. Does the bucket of the cooler have to be outside of the yurt? Will it still be effective inside it? I'm testing it inside my apartment right now and it seems to be blowing cool air just fine.